Rumple spent the next hour calming Rose down, reassuring her that he would never do anything to her. No matter how angry he got, he could never bring himself to harm her. Rose always knew this in a way. She's never seen him angry before and when she did, it just frightened her.

"Are you gonna make Belle leave?" He looked down at the child in confusion.

"Why would I make her leave?"

"You never yelled before she got here." She was right. Before Belle was brought to the castle, he's never yelled around Rose. She only witnessed it twice, when Belle "lost" Rose and earlier when she let the thief free. He could let Belle go just for the fact that he's frightening his daughter by yelling at the new maid, but he wouldn't. He knew Rose had taken a liking to Belle and he made her a promise that she would never have to be alone in the castle ever again. Getting rid of Belle would break that promise. Even if he were to get another girl, there was no guarantee Rose would like her and that was important. He didn't want her to be watched and taken care of by someone she didn't like. He wanted her to be happy and Belle made her happy. Even if he wanted to let her go, he wouldn't for Rose's sake.

"Would you be upset if she were to leave?" She nodded. "Then I won't make her leave. If she makes you happy, she'll stay."

"Really?" She looked up at him with her hopeful emerald eyes. He smiled at her.

"Yes. Belle and I may have our differences, but as long as you are happy with her, then that's all that matters." She smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you, Papa." He hugged her back.

"Anything for you, flower." They broke apart and she looked up at him with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"You said you and Belle were leaving." Rumple then remembered the thief he planned to go after. He was taking Belle with him to teach her a lesson. He knew that meant leaving Rose by herself in the castle, something he promised she would never have to do again. He couldn't break his promise. He had already broken a promise with his son. He couldn't do the same with his daughter, but he couldn't just let the thief get away with stealing from him. There was only one thing Rumple could do in this situation and he wasn't going to like it.

"Yes, we are. And you're coming with us." Rose's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. She had never been outside the castle before and she was surprised that he would let her.

"I am?"

"You are. I promised you that you wouldn't have to be alone in the castle again and I'm keeping that promise. You can come with us, but you have to do everything I tell you without question. Do you understand?" She eagerly nodded. She was excited that she would finally see the outside world.

"I will, Papa! Thank you!" She hugged him again. He hugged her back. He still had his doubts about it, but a promise was a promise. He broke the hug and looked at her.

"Now listen, Rose. The outside world can be dangerous. Not all people are what they seem. You have to be very careful." He stood and went over to his work table. He took some gold thread he had spun earlier and waved his hand over it. It glowed for a moment. He went back over to Rose and tied the thread around her wrist. "This will protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you. It will also block out anyone's magic except my own. Don't take this off for any reason, understand?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Good girl. Now, let's find you something more appropriate to wear for the trip." They left from the tower and went to Rose's bedroom.

Everyone was dressed and ready to go. Belle wanted to question why Rose was coming along, but after the earlier conversation of his parenting, she decided not to say anything. She also didn't want to have another argument in front of her. She was frightened enough he first time. Belle had never seen the child so sad and afraid and it broke her heart. She had only ever seen happiness and joy and slight disappointment from her and seeing her so shaken was a sight she never wanted to see again.

Rumple readied a carriage for them. He took the thief's bow and arrows and laid on the floor of the carriage while Rose petted the horses. Belle approached him.

"I think we should talk." He turned and looked at her.

"And what is it we have to talk about?"

"About earlier. The whole situation with Rose. We may not see eye-to-eye on many things, but I think we should try to get along. At least when we're around Rose." He narrowed his eyes.

"And why do you care so much of my daughter?"

"Well, I am her caretaker. I'm with her almost every minute of the day. It's hard not to feel a need to protect her. To make sure she's happy. To make sure she feels safe in her own home. That can't happen if we are constantly under each other's skin." Rumple hated to admit it, but she was right. Seeing Rose so afraid of him broke his heart to pieces. He had always feared that. He didn't want his daughter to fear him. He wanted her to feel safe with him. He had to learn to compromise with Belle, but she needed to know that he was still the Dark One and shouldn't be messed with.

"Well, if you were to be more obedient and didn't interfere with my affairs, we shouldn't have anymore problems." She glared at him for a moment. She still felt she did the right thing by letting the man go. No one should be tortured.

"Why didn't you kill me? I'm sure you could have found someone else to be your new maid and Rose's caretaker."

"The only reason I didn't is because Rose has taken a strong liking to you. Wouldn't want to disappoint her by killing the only other person she's ever known." Part of that was true. Killing Belle would have devastated Rose and that's the last thing Rumple wanted, but there was another reason. Belle knew. Of course he wouldn't admit it. "Rose! Time to go."

"Coming!" She left the horses and ran to Rumple. He picked her up and put her in the carriage. She sat down on the other side near the window. Belle climbed in next and sat across from her. Rose smiled at her and Belle couldn't help but smile back. She knew this had to be Rose's first time leaving the castle and she was clearly excited. Under the circumstances, Belle didn't share the child's excitement. They were going to track down and kill a man. Rose seemed to have forgotten that fact and Belle wasn't going to remind her. Rumple climbed in and sat beside his daughter. He looked at her and smiled.

"Are you ready?" She nodded.

"Yeah." He waved his hand and the carriage started moving. They went down the familiar pathway Rose had been down many times before. When she played outside, she would sometimes travel along the walls and wondered what it was like on the other side. She was finally going to find out. The gates opened and they first thing she saw the large trees of the forest. She sat up on her knees and stuck her head out of the window. She had never seen so many trees before and they were much taller than any of the trees in the gardens. They seemed to go forever.

As the traveled farther into the forest, Rose grew more fascinated. Even with the foggy and damp weather, she still found wonder. She saw animals she had only seen in the pictures of her book. She saw a few deer and chipmunks, and even a fox. She excitedly called out each animal she saw. Rumple smiled at his daughter's wonder. Belle saw this and smirked to herself. He had the softest spot for the little girl. She still wondered where she had come from. He had been the Dark One for centuries and the child was only four. Where had she come from? Where were her real parents? Did he get her from a deal as well? Rumple's voice broke her train of thought.

"I'm losing track of him. This forest is too thick." Bell glanced over towards Rose, who was still taking in the forest. She didn't seem to be paying them any mind. She looked back to Rumple.

"Maybe we should return home."

"What and let the thief escape? What would people think if I spared the life of someone who stole from me?"

"That there's actually a man hiding behind the beast?"

"There isn't."

"I'm sure a certain someone thinks there is." He looked over at Rose. She continued to observe her surroundings, completely oblivious of the conversation in the carriage.

"She is but a child. She doesn't know any better. She'll learn the truth in time." Belle could've sworn she heard a tinge of sadness in his voice. The last thing he wanted his daughter to know was of the beast he was. He wasn't a beast to her. He wasn't the Dark One or even Rumpelstiltskin. He was just her papa. That's who he's been her entire life. Before Belle could respond, Rose interrupted.

"Papa! Look!" Ahead of them was a man on a horse followed by a horse-drawn carriage. Rumple pulled Rose to sit down and had the horses stop.

"Stay in the carriage, Rose, and stay out of sight." She nodded as Rumple stepped out of the carriage. Belle followed him out. Rose was blocked out of the man's sight by the horses, but was able to hear what was going on.

"What are you doing in my woods?"

"Pardon the intrusion, sheriff. I'm looking for a thief. He attacked me with this bow. I traced him as far as these woods and then he vanished."

"Yes, I know exactly who you're after, but I also know who you are, Rumpelstiltskin."

"My reputation proceeds me. Excellent."

"Yes, as your pension for making deals. I'll tell you where you can find your thief, if you give me something in return." Rose was a bit intrigued by the conversation. She new that her papa made deals all the time. He had made a few with her, but she had never seen him deal with someone else. She wanted to know what her papa would trade the man for information on the thief. She peeked through the carriage over the horses. She could see the man and her papa talking while Belle stood a couple of feet behind Rumple. She could see them, but they couldn't see her.

"What do you want?"

"A night with your wench." The man pointed to Belle. What did he want with Belle? And why did he call her a wench? What was a wench? Rumple looked back at Belle, then back to the sheriff.

"She's not for sale." The man laughed and glared at Belle. Rose didn't trust the way he looked at her. She felt very unsettled about it, but she didn't know why.

"You can't part with her, for say, an hour?" Rumple just looked at the man. Rose grew even more confused. First he wanted her for a night. Now, he was asking for an hour. What could he possibly need with her caretaker? "Twenty minutes?"

"Let me think." Rose was then pulled away from the trade by a soft rustling beside the carriage. She looked over and saw a deer and a fawn grazing. She softly gasped and went to the side of the carriage to get a closer look. She watched them in silent amazement. She saw a few on the journey, but she never got to watch them that closely. The deer lifted her head suddenly and looked around. They then ran off into the forest. Rose was a bit disappointed, but loved that she got to watch them. She went to turn back to see the rest of the deal, hoping she didn't miss anything. She saw the man walking back to his horse and Rumple and Belle coming back to he carriage. She missed it. She noticed the man was playing with his tongue. She wondered why. Rumple and Belle climbed back into the carriage.

"What happened, Papa?" He looked to Belle for a moment, then back to his daughter.

"Well, the sheriff told me what I wanted to know after I made a deal he couldn't refuse."

"What was it?" He smiled at her.

"That's a story for another time." Rose knew that meant he didn't want to tell her. It was best that she left it alone. They were on their way again.